DESIGN - EARTHQUAKE – ENVELOPE:
DYNAMIC TRIPOD

Contemporary architectural design environment is a dynamic process with the new developments in building materials and construction technologies.

Earthquake is a natural disaster acting dynamically on both the natural and built environment. Seismic regulations are obligations for building construction in order to protect the structure from collapse.

Architectural design is a decision making process and has to be a fusion of design technology and regulations. The building should be an integrated whole and provide solutions for the after-quake problems of the earthquake survivors.

This paper is going to investigate the building envelope performance for survival of the users. Building materials and new technologies forming the envelope of the building are going to be discussed for design of safe buildings and solutions to the problems of extreme circumstances. The objective is to improve the durability and performance of the building through an integrated envelope.

The conclusion has to be a reconciliation between the users, architectural design and environment.